NHS Bury deficit rose to £1.7m by end of June

Its latest finance report identified secondary care, specialised commissioning, and continuing healthcare as the main risks to its financial position in 2011-12.

The PCT’s secondary care budget was overspent by £1.5m at the end of June, mostly in relation to spending on NHS organisations.

“The £1.4m overspend to date relating to NHS trust comprises of £0.78m unmet savings on general and acute contracts, and in the main the overspends in other areas e.g. ambulance, community, is due to unmet savings in these areas hence, activity has not yet reduced significantly enough to deliver affordable levels,” the report stated.

On specialist commissioning, it warned: “Specialist services are commissioned on a collaborative basis by the North West Specialist Commissioning Team (NWSCT) and early discussions had indicated that in year plans would be put in place to ensure a reduction in expenditure as compared to the previous year.

“Having now reviewed the proposals released by the NWSCT, financial pressures rather than the required savings appear to have resulted in some areas for NHS Bury,” it said.

Bury has a target to save £1.5m on continuing healthcare this year, but the report notes that “rather than any reductions being seen this area of spend continues on an upward trend”.

It notes that the CH budget was £750,000 overspent at the end of June, due to a mix of “unmet cost saving target” and increases in expenditure above 2010-11 levels.